Lewis, Ravens prepare for Rams quick offense

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis reacts after intercepting a pass by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) By Nick Wass

(FootballStL) -- Although the St. Louis Rams rank 28th in points per game (14.5) in the league, the high-octane Baltimore Ravens defense knows that Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is going to create trouble.

“I think it’s a very, almost like an unpredictable system,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “He really mixes it up a lot and makes it all fly. That’s really the thing you have to hone in on is playing your responsibility, playing your keys and making sure you don’t get caught up in all the different things that he does.”

The key to stopping the Rams from moving the ball is to control the hurry-up offense, according to Lewis.

“We’re definitely looking at that hurry up offense on how they hurried up the Giants last week and really had the Giants out of wack and out of alignment,” Lewis said. “That’s one thing we’re definitely trying to zone in on and make sure we don’t get caught with that.”

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh knows the Rams have struggled scoring points (14.5 points per game), but believes it isn’t because of the lack of moving the ball.

“Our job is going to be to do everything we can to make sure they don’t right the ship,” Harbaugh said. “I really like their quarterback, the offensive line is very athletic, they’ve got good running backs and these receivers are big, strong guys that can go up and make plays downfield, all of it. And then they have a tight end that’s emerging, a young tight end is doing a great job.”

One of the Rams players that Harbaugh is most impressed with is WR Danario Alexander after his performance against the New York Giants on Monday night. Alexander caught three passes for 122 yards.

“We knew him coming out of the draft and we were very impressed with him,” Harbaugh said. “The knee issue doesn’t even look to be a problem, but here’s a guy that’s 6’5”, can jump out of the building, that’s making radius catches all over the place and is running down field. He couldn’t help but get our attention.”

The St. Louis Rams rank 14th in the NFL in both pass offense (244.5 yards per game) and rush offense (106.5 yard per game). The Baltimore Ravens defense ranks 28th in pass defense (302 yards allowed per game) and 4th in rush defense (70.5 yards allowed per game).

by Scott Bierman, FootballStL

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